Well we survived week one of the NFL. Even with all the ridiculous calls the replacement referees made, the league still survived. It was very shaky at times, but football lives for another week. With the first week of the NFL season behind us, I decided to post my knee-jerk reactions for week one.
Knee-jerk reaction # 1: If the referee situation doesn’t get fixed the NFL is going to bring the apocalypse upon the earth. There was one series during the Green Bay and San Francisco game in which a member of the 49ers offense jumped or moved early on three consecutive plays and there was no flag thrown. It was embarrassing. Al Michaels commented on a bad call that was made during the Sunday night game and his reaction was, “What else is new.” I said it before the season started and I’ll say it again, Please fix this situation Roger Goodell. Pay the real refs what they want and get the replacement refs off the field.
Knee-jerk reaction #2: The Buffalo Bills will not win a game all season long. Ok, I know this isn’t really going to happen. However, if they play like they did against the Jets for the next 15 games, it’s going to be a really long four months in Western New York. Hopefully hockey season will start real soon and will help get their minds off of the football team.
Knee-jerk reaction #3: Payton Manning will go down as the greatest player ever in the NFL. Look at what this guy has had to go through for the past two years. This guy was arguably the best quarterback in the game. He had to miss an entire season due to neck surgeries. Then he had to watch as the team he dedicated his life to and a team that he helped win a championship decides they wanted to go in a different direction. They decided they wanted to draft Andrew Luck and send Manning packing. He signs with the Denver Broncos and makes his debut against the Steelers on Sunday night. He didn’t look as if he had missed a beat, either. Congratulations to Manning and his comeback. I hope he stays healthy all season long so we can see what he’s able to do with that team.
Knee-jerk reaction #4: The Baltimore Ravens are going 16-0 this season. Ok, here again I know this isn’t going to happen. However, I was impressed with the way they man handled a pretty good Bengals team on Monday night. The defense was all over the field and Ed Reed proved again that he is a beast. He now holds the record for most return yards in NFL history as he intercepted Andy Dalton and ran it back 41 yards for a touchdown. It’s amazing to me that the defense of the Ravens has been able to remain great for over a decade now. They’re not known for a great offense but a great defense. However, on Monday night they had an amazing offensive output as well. Quarterback Flacco had 299 yards passing and if he continues that the Ravens will be extremely dangerous this season.
Knee-jerk reaction #5: The San Francisco 49ers will win the Super Bowl. A lot of people felt that the 49ers would take a step back this year. Last year they were just a few plays away from being in the Super Bowl, but a lot of experts felt as if they caught a wave of “good luck”. Could Alex Smith play out of his mind again this year like he did last year, or would he come back down to earth? Could the defense step up and be as dominant as it was a year ago? If Sunday in Green Bay was any indication, this team is ready to do what they did last year plus some. They took on the high powered Green Bay offense and held them to 22 points. If they can keep putting forth an effort like that, this team is going to be incredibly hard to beat.
Knee-jerk reaction #6: RG3 (Robert Griffin III) is going to win Rookie of the Year. On Sunday, the Redskins quarterback passed for the second most yards of any starting rookie quarterback. Only Cam Newton last year had more passing yards in his debut. He looked as if he’d been playing in the NFL for years as he torched the Saints with his passing and his mobility. Not only did he rise above expectations, his team stunned the Saints as they beat them 40-32. This quarterback might give fans something to cheer for, and that’s something they haven’t had in a long time.
Greg Higgins - Sports Editor Greg has lived in the Paris area for most of his life and is a huge sports fan. He loves talking about sports and writing about it. Greg has been a part of eparisextra since the beginning of 2012. He is also very active in his church. When he's not writing about or watching sports, you can find him working out or hanging out with his wife.
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